"Kunta, I have a question. So how do we win this battle? Do we just kill them all?"
"...Are you only asking that now?"
"Barbarian bro, you're quite the character yourself, keuhaha!"
"??"
Kunta, sitting in the spectator seats watching the War Game, blinked naively.
He wanted nothing more than to fight alongside the seedlings right now, but unfortunately, this battlefield was not for him.
Thus, he was watching the warriors' struggle so quietly, yet he still didn't properly understand this game.
However, in reality, it wasn't something to simply ignore or curse him for.
It couldn't be helped—he was someone who wasn't even familiar with the common language yet, wasn't he?
They had never given a kind explanation to someone who wouldn't even know what a War Game was, so it would be fair to say it was the fault of Kunta's only acquaintances.
"If I were to explain now, killing is prohibited in the War Game."
"It's a war, though?"
"It's a mock battle. If people die, it's no longer a 'mock' war. So there must be no death."
"Mm, I don't quite understand, but Kunta gets it for now."
"This guy is definitely the type who should never participate in a War Game."
Garand chuckled, saying he was a dangerous fellow, and Arno continued with silent agreement.
"The battle method of War Games is always different. Sometimes it's a siege, sometimes it becomes an all-out battle. However, in today's case, it's a very simple method."
"What is it?"
"Capture the flag. In other words, protecting your commander to the end could be called the fundamental rule of this game."
"Ah, so that's why they were all carrying those flags? I thought it was Kunta's toy."
"It definitely looks like a toy, though."
Gooooo...!
"—But for those fighting, it's surely serious."
As soon as Garand's words ended, flames erupted toward the seedlings.
* * *
Seventeen magicians.
The number excluding Irene Windler and the social misfits who skip the magic department's lectures.
It could be considered that these seventeen were effectively leading the magic department.
However, one shouldn't ignore them just because their numbers were small.
That was because magicians were individuals who each possessed dangerous power.
A skilled high-ranking magician wasn't called a strategic weapon that could change the tide of battle with individual power alone for nothing.
It meant they too were talents who might be called something in the future.
And as if boasting such potential.
Huuung!
A massive air current was generated.
The catalyst was psychokinesis.
With psychokinesis as its core, wind gathered around it.
The intense wind soon became clumps of oxygen that coalesced, and in an instant.
"[Burn, even hotter. Destructively]."
Flames surged up in an instant.
Incantation (呪文).
It might seem like wordplay, but the verbal invocation of a magician who had constructed an incantation world was not mere wordplay—it was called an incantation.
And the longer such an incantation, the more its power amplified.
Instead, the chanting time of an incantation was determined solely by individual talent, magical capacity, and mental strength.
However, seventeen magicians had gathered here now.
Though their individual capabilities might fall short of Irene Windler, magicians forming a group deploy magic that even Irene Windler couldn't achieve.
Hwarururuk-!
Giant flames.
A size so massive that one's legs would weaken just looking at it.
How immense was the power it possessed?
"We will end it in one blow. That is the mercy we can offer."
"Yeeah. That's right, Instructor."
They weren't as arrogant as Othwal, but fundamentally, the race called magicians viewed those who couldn't use magic as infinitely weak beings.
If their professor considered magic-incapable individuals as insects or filth, they simply viewed those without magic as creatures like cats or dogs.
Beyond the level of being a different race—they were fragile beings to be protected.
That was why they were merciful.
They were fighting seriously even in an 'already decided match.'
"[Be shot]."
Therefore, displaying etiquette and mercy, they agreed to end this match seriously, in one blow.
Presenting a strike that would completely burn away their fighting spirit.
This was their mercy and their agreement.
Hwaaa-!
A boulder-sized fireball was shot like that.
The fireball shot like a trebuchet was no mere fireball—it was a fireball containing an incantation.
They would have no way to block it.
'It's over.'
The instructor magician Ron intuitively felt that this match was over the moment the fireball flew.
They wouldn't die.
If they had any sense, dodging would be common sense....
"Huh? What are they doing right now?"
"Why aren't they dodging?"
"!!?"
However, the magicians were horrified.
Because they.
"──."
Without a hint of wavering, without even dodging, they were facing the incoming flames head-on.
The magicians sensed something was wrong and tried to cancel their magic, but their capabilities weren't yet excellent enough to dispel magic that had already been cast.
The magicians' faces turned pale as they squeezed their eyes shut to avoid the tragedy that would unfold next.
However,
"Raise Spears (擧槍)-!!!"
The seedlings—no, the valiant Berserkers draped in bear hides raised their spears.
A raising stance as if they would throw their spears at any moment.
The one giving orders like a commander was a girl more fragile than anyone here, but whose mental strength and bravery were second to none.
The girl, Levi Volt, raised her hand forward, precisely indicating the direction her senior brothers should throw, and they waited only for Levi Volt's command.
An instant shorter than a flash.
The girl who had gathered her strength to its full limit and made her judgment.
"Throw Spears (投槍)."
With a calm command, she threw her spear first, and the others threw their spears exactly the same.
Wooden spears that looked infinitely feeble.
One might ask why they held wooden spears when even iron spears wouldn't be enough.
Even those watching felt their hearts tremble, but the next moment.
Kwaaang!!
The eighteen wooden spears they threw collided with the fireball, causing a massive explosion.
Force versus force.
In reality, it would be common sense that they couldn't counter the power emitted by the fireball, but surprisingly, the eighteen wooden spears.
Hwaaa-!
Blew away the fireball.
"It, it was neutralized!?"
Othwal, the magic department professor watching this, was horrified.
The flames, such destructive magic was neutralized in an instant.
With mere wooden sticks...!
It was impossible.
What kind of magic was that!?
He couldn't contain his horror, but even more horrified than him were the cadets and faculty watching the War Game, and.
"What did I just see?"
"Those bastards, did they just use Qi projection technique?"
"No, it's not Qi projection technique. But they used explosive force."
The nobles; especially those who had learned Qi projection techniques saw it.
The massive flow of force concentrated into the wooden spears in that instant.
It wasn't Qi projection power.
However, something similar to Qi projection power—yes, a flow of pure force was contained in the wooden spears.
...Even if someone protested that such an explanation was incomprehensible, they could only answer that way.
Because it was something they were seeing for the first time in their lives.
But whether they were surprised or not, the knight watching his disciples' growth had no interest in that.
What he was interested in was only the pride he felt for them finally emitting proper force.
"Yes, that is precisely Spear Force (槍勁)."
"Then, if you imbue force into a sword, is it Sword Force?"
"That's right."
"...The name is truly simple."
"It's originally the rule that simpler things are easier to remember."
"Mm."
"And more than anything."
As long as the firepower was strong, wasn't that enough?
A people of firepower.
To the descendants of Hwanung who loved greater firepower and power, there was nothing more important than this.
It was the proud soul of the Chungmu Gong faction, who even after being reincarnated, didn't change and lavishly revealed their love for firepower.
* * *
"Now!"
Levi Volt was in the position of giving orders at some point.
Unlike the others, the results of studying lordship and military science since childhood were revealed here.
Kwang!
And they followed Levi Volt's command.
Not simply because the girl had studied more than them, but because they trusted the girl.
Because of their trust in the girl who called them senior brothers, and their reverence for the power that their Great Master had personally beaten into their bodies.
They ran, displaying a gait that would groove the earth.
They hadn't used Jing.
They had simply kicked off with all their might.
However, their movements truly resembled bears.
Not because they wore bear skins, but like bears who had truly finished preparing for the hunt, they were ferocious and agile.
It was an overwhelming speed they could produce because their bodies' vessels had been strengthened along with their Jing training.
A speed of 30 kilometers per hour.
However, they couldn't maintain this speed forever.
That was why they were running.
"It's now!"
Kwang!
The raising spear stance resumed.
Carrying the wooden spears on their backs, they took their throwing stance at a closer distance than before.
Kkwadudeuk!
Jing, they loaded the mass spread throughout their bodies.
However, for them who were still unskilled, they couldn't load their whole body's mass.
Still.
'Even for us, loading about a quarter of our force is possible!'
And that alone was enough to be a threat to their enemies.
The wooden spears flew relentlessly with a whoosh, targeting the magicians.
The magicians were terrified and deployed their psychokinesis.
To block all the incoming spears.
However.
Kwang!
Kwaang!
Kwajik!
"K, keugh!"
"Uwek!"
"Aims!!"
"Damn it! What the hell is going on!"
A powerful pressure they couldn't fully neutralize with psychokinesis overwhelmed them.
After closing the distance in an instant, they threw spears from all directions like unfolding a crane-wing formation.
The number of spears each warrior carried was eight.
They couldn't carry any more as they would get in the way, and having expended most of them, they prepared to throw their final spears.
To achieve a quick resolution.
However, before they could even throw.
"[Blow, even larger, sharp as a blade!]"
An incantation was heard.
The magicians hadn't been idly standing by either.
"It's a wind-attribute incantation! Fall back immediately! Don't throw your spears!"
Levi Volt shouted with all her might, and they, whose excitement was evident from the girl's words, immediately tried to escape their positions.
However.
"[Water, pour down, drenchingly, swiftly!]."
"[Earth, melt, even deeper]."
"[Freeze, bring the frost of the frozen earth]."
The wind that seemed like it would blow at any moment was a lie.
Deceiving with incantations and preparing other attacks.
Magicians were natural strategists.
Hwaaak!
The warriors were hit directly by the magicians' incantations without even time to flee.
A sudden downpour fell, the ground became muddy and swamp-like, and began to freeze.
Their feet were bound to the ground, slipped, and froze.
Their mobility vanished in an instant.
They panicked, their faces distorting mercilessly, and the magicians didn't miss this.
"...Did you perhaps intend a speed battle?"
Ron, who served as the magicians' leader, understood their attack method in an instant.
Lightning war.
They didn't seem to have any intention of dragging this match out.
Just like them.
However, it probably wasn't for the same 'merciful reason' as them.
There was another reason.
"I see, that power, it has a time limit!"
Ron realized.
The power they were using.
He didn't know if it was Qi projection technique, but right now that didn't matter.
What was important was that their power had a time limit.
If that weren't the case, there would be no reason for them to panic so much just because their mobility was blocked.
Realizing this, Ron smiled, realizing that time was on the magicians' side.
They had taken a bit of a hit, but ultimately, the victory of this match would be theirs....
"—Great Master said so. That there are none as arrogant as magicians, and so they often get hit while being slow to react. Those words were truly right."
"!!?"
When had she approached?
The girl, who had been slower than the others but never gave up and ran to the end, had already drawn her sword and taken her stance.
Levi Volt, with a face devoid of even an inch of hesitation or despair, calmly spoke.
An infinitely calm appearance.
Too calm to consider the chance of victory lost, the girl showed she hadn't given up yet.
"That's right, just as you said, my senior brothers and I aren't yet familiar with Jing. So it's true that we're infinitely lacking."
The time they could use Jing at full power was barely around 15 minutes at most.
In actual combat, this would decrease even further, dropping sharply to 3 minutes.
That was why this fight had to end as a lightning war.
It was an unavoidable choice to win.
Therefore.
"We needed to close the distance."
The current distance between them and the magicians was about five paces.
However, between them existed a wall called psychokinesis, so in reality, they had to forcefully break through it to subdue them.
But.
"Subduing you isn't the 'rule,' is it?"
Right, this was a game.
With victory conditions.
Capture the flag.
And toward the fluttering flag, she.
"Thank you, Instructor."
Swung her sword toward the empty air with genuine gratitude.
The magicians watching this thought it was some foolish act, but soon.
Hwuk!
A sharp wind grazed the magicians' heads.
Thud....
"......Huh?"
The magicians turned around.
The flag.
The flag they were supposed to protect.
"It, it broke?"
Had fallen to the ground with absurd simplicity.
"………."
...The magicians looked back and forth between the flag and Levi Volt in bewilderment.
Confused by a situation they couldn't understand at all.
But Levi Volt didn't care whether they were confused or not.
Right now.
"...We did it."
The sense of achievement and the joy of victory.
She was too busy feeling this thrill.
The girl was happy.
Although it didn't have the power to pierce even rocks like the Instructor, what was important at this point was the power to break a single flag.
The emission of Jing.
Namely.
"I'm glad 'Fa Jing (發勁)' was successful."
Thump.
The girl whose stamina had run out collapsed like that, but a smile of utmost satisfaction bloomed on her face.
Bright as a flower.
- 2 minutes 39 seconds.
The time it took for the Swordsmanship Department to defeat the Magic Department.
And.
"Right, hmm, what did you say again."
"……."
"Did you say you'd follow any order from the person who defeats you?"
"……."
"Slave. Don't cry and answer me."
"...Keuheugh!"
It was also the moment the harsh life of the Magic Department professor.
Othwal Bernard began.